


Bright Spot

by vividliving



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Anne fucking styles, Des !!, Diabetes, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Louis and Harry are happy don't worry, M/M, Not That Slow Though, Sick Harry Styles, Slow Burn, Teenage Drama, also niall horan, but Larry is endgame, helpful louis, just read the story, like medium burn, need i say more?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:08:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vividliving/pseuds/vividliving
Summary: "you see this"harry began drawing a large circle, his hand moving softly against the white page as he made it even and neat. "this is my life," he began shading it in deeply with the pencil, covering any peaking spot of white as he dug into the paper harshly with the graphite of his drawing pencil."haz wha-""and you're here," harry took the white pen from louis small fingers and began drawing a small white circle inside the black one."you're my bright spot."orwhere harry has type one diabetes and louis is the kid who walks him to the nurse every day at 10:45.
Relationships: Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles, Niall Horan/Zayn Malik, Niall Horan/Zayn Malik/Liam Payne/Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> Uhm hi!
> 
> This is my first ever fanfic on Ao3 ever (came from wattpad sorry!)
> 
> But I hope you guys really really enjoy it, I'll slowly start to bring some of my wattpad fics over but this is my favorite so imma start with this one.
> 
> Few things  
> -lowercase is intended  
> -i am not an expert on diabetes but i have a few friends who have the disease so i'll be getting all my knowledge from that and .org websites  
> -i'm still figuring this whole thing out so bear with me and if you have any complaints or something about the structure of the story please feel free to let me know!
> 
> Other than that bit, enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> harry's first doctors appointment.

white walls.

he didn't like how the hallways smelled of bleach and the walls were scrubbed so clean it looked as though they weren't being used. several people shuffled past him and his mum as they sat patiently in the hospital waiting room, anne tapping her foot anxiously against the table in front of her.

harry couldn't help but squeeze her hand and look up at her bashfully with those big round green eyes, staring at the woman with so much fear hidden in his eyes and so much worry she thought maybe he'd burst.

"harry look, they have those colored circles you love," the young boy whipped his head to stare at his sister who was kneeling on the ground and pushing her fingers against the blocks, motioning for her brother to join her. of course, he couldn't resist himself when he stumbled off of the comfy chair and pattered over to the girl.

a smile spread so wide across his face as he pushed himself against her warm body, pushing the small circles along the curvy green line.

"styles, harold!"

anne stuck her hand up immediately in the air, gathering her purse and the papers in hand before reaching over to scoop her son up in her arms and grab gemma's hand tight in hers. harry watched the heels click harshly on the tile floor beneath him, his small arms tightening to loop around her neck as she spoke quiet words to the doctor leading them to an examination room.

when the four reached the room harry was placed on the stiff bed covered in the crinkly paper he hated so much, his hands went to grab and pull at the paper trying his best to tear it away and reveal the pretty blue color he adores so much.

"so we've been monitoring his glucose levels over the past three months and they're extremely high which explains his recurring sickness,"

gemma leaned over the side of the bed and began picking at the paper too, trying to distract the boy from what the doctor had been spewing so quickly to their mother. 

harry could only catch a glimpse of his mother as her eyes watered and her hand slowly came to cover her gaping mouth, shaking her head as the doctor handing her a few papers and placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"harry look, a smiley face!" the girl brought her brother's attention to the bed where she had ripped the paper evenly enough to make a crooked smiley face.

although she couldn't hold his attention long enough because soon a nurse was coming through the door pushing a metal cart full of things like needles and small white boxes, placing it in front of anne as the doctor continued to speak in that soft voice.

harry's eyes went wide as he looked between his mother's sweet eyes and the doctor who had been pointing to and explaining all of the items on the cart. and harry was panicking.

"gem, no needle. gem-gem i-"

"mum, what's going on?"

anne tried her best to explain what was going on but all the boy wanted to do was cry, he wanted to cry and scream and kick and whine.

like the child he was, he did. warm wet tears rolled down his soft freckled cheeks and onto his clean red shirt as gemma shushed the small cries leaving his light pink lips, his chest felt heavy with every deep breath he took and every sob that left his body. despite the lack of knowledge about anything that was happening to him, he knew something was happening and he really wanted it to stop, he didn't want to see the needles being pulled out of the stressed look taking over his mother's features of the whispers surrounding him as if he wasn't there.

"harold was it?" the doctor was kneeling on the floor now, hands pressed to the boy's shoulders tightly as he offered an innocent smile, "i'm doctor taylors, you can call me jack if you'd like."

harry nodded, now feeling embarrassed by the heavy tears falling out and choosing to wipe the away feverishly. he's be lying if he said he didn't zone out halfway through, though how could he focus when jack had sticker peeking out of his coat pocket.

harry really like stickers.

"...so every day at 10:45 you'll get someone to take this pen, and inject this magic serum into your thigh."

"magic?"

"yeah, it'll give you powers for whatever you need in your day. Let's try it right now alright?"

the boy nodded sheepishly as the doctor reached over on the cart and grabbed the long blue pen, loading it with some plastic container that snapped in perfectly to the slot. anne came over to her son, lifting him up so she sat on the bed instead and placing him gently onto her lap and wrap her arms securely around his waist.

the doctor pricked harry's tin finger with a small device and showed something on the screen to anne, explaining how much insulin to give him with each reading or something along those lines. after he had done that he moved back over to focus on the pen which did, in fact, look like a pen.

"so just about in this general area, for now, you mix the pen by rolling it in between your palms like this and the only thing you're attaching is a new needle."

harry began to squirm as the jack twisted the needle onto the capsule and handed it to anne with gentle hands, the boy felt like his face was getting hotter by the second especially when the cap was removed and he could hear the clicking as anne turned the dial on the pen.

"mummy no, it's going to hurt isn't it jack? mummy, you said you don't like when i hurt, it'll hurt real bad,"

jack shook his head with a dry chuckle, the glasses on the bridge of his nose titled down as he spoke in a kind and soft voice, "it won't hurt harold, just close your eyes and count to twenty okay?"

so he closed his eyes with a shaky breath and began whispering the numbers slowly in a wavering voice laced with uncertainty, the feeling came like a sharp stinging residing in his milky white thigh. and it only worsened when he realized the needle wasn't coming out.

anne tightened her grip around her son's waist and hugged him close to her chest with her head resting softly on his shoulder, mumbling sweet nothings into his ears and nuzzling the spot behind his neck.

"it's okay baby, you're gonna be just fine. promise you that _always_."

_he was her baby, always._


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> second grade is a second try

it was the first day of school.

it was actually the first day.

it wasn't orientation or the meeting with the principle about medical arrangements or introducing him to the nurse, it was the day that all the buses were out on the roads picking little kids up and the halls of the small school were filled with kids just like him.

harry was shaking really bad. his hands were shaking along with his right foot which just wouldn't stop banging against his mum's seat in front of him. gemma was sat next to him calmly an amused look on her face as she watched her brother squirm in his car seat, poking at his puffy cheeks and tickling his sides whenever she thought had was getting a little too scared.

"gem your teacher already knows to let you leave at 10:45 okay? and make sure the nurse does it right, we practiced last week but you know i worry," anne glanced at the pair sat closely together in the mirror, a smile rising to her once strict lips.

gemma simply rolled her eyes with a groan, "i know we went over this at home, now let us out the car for goodness sake!"

the girl didn't even wait for a response and instead unbuckled harry's car seat and dropped him out of the car along with herself by his small wrist. with a slam of the door and a small wave, anne was pulling away from the school and leaving her two children to stand in front of the large building.

Walker Elementary was written in bold letters on the building, kindergarten teachers stood outside greeting students and giving out room assignments if need be.

harry gripped his sister's hand together in his palm as she pulled him with her down the pavement and into the open metal doors.

suddenly a small boy about the same size as harry with chubbier cheeks rammed into the little boy's back, nearly toppling over him in effort to reach the school.

he squeaked our a helplessly small 'oops' before scrambling up into a straight position and darting past other kids, bumping into them as well.

"so sorry about him, he's just a tad bit excited,"

gemma and harry bother turned around to be greeted by a tall brunette with pretty cascading curls and sparkly pink lipstick staining her small lips. she held a strong smile accompanied by warm cheeks as she stuck her hand out for the older to shake, "i'm lottie, my family just moved here last month."

of course the other girl took the others hand and gently shook it with a sweet smile, nearly forgetting her brothers presence.

"i'm gem and this is my brother harry, are you a fifth grader?"

"yup! ms. killens class on the top floor,"

"me too, would you like to walk together?"

lottie grinned widely, taking gemma's hand in hers and yanking her into the school. harry falling shortly behind.

after dropping the younger off in his classroom with a kiss on the head and a ruffle of his neat curls gemma was disappearing down the hallway, leaving her brother to fend for himself.

still after three years of attending this school he had only one friend, two if you count stans friend liam. he didn't.

stan was in another class so he was stuck with liam who he thought talked too much about power rangers and didn't know when to stop.

harry entered the classroom bashfully with his head down and his arms tucked underneath of themselves shielding his green and white stripped shirt. the boy couldn't believe how big it was, the classroom had white and lilac walls and the desk were a pretty wood stained color.

they were set up in a U shape with another row in the center and name tags were presented on all of the desk, done in fancy calligraphy with curly lines at the end of them.

harry say in the bottom of the U in a dark blue desk opposed to the cream colored ones in front of him. his name was written neatly and in elongated form with a curly H and L. he hoped they could take them home.

next to him was katie on the left and a boy named louis on his right.

he remembered knowing a few katie's but he wasn't sure which one would be in such close quarters with him. the name louis hasn't sounded familiar, in fact her knew a louise so maybe the teacher forgot a letter.

seems strange that she spelled harold correctly but not louise.

harry simply headed to his seat and placed his orange bag down so it hung on the back of the blue chair. luckily it was nice enough that there were no need to wear coats or jackets even.

"all students report to your home rooms please, have a great first day!" a sweet voice rang over the speaker placed directly above the head of curls.

his bright green eyes glanced up at the intercom curiously as he slid into his seat warily and listened his best to the message the woman was relaying.

soon a small body was sliding in beside him, bumping harrys arm roughly against the desk as he did so, "my bad! i'm so clumsy today, dunno why."

"are you nervous?" harry quizzed, dubbing his aching elbow and keeping his gaze downward to nursing his wound.

the other answered with a huff, "no way dude, louis william _does not_ get nervous."

he paused finally taking a seat and turning toward harry, "are you?"

"a little, it's weird that you aren't nervous."

"it's weird that you _are_ ," louis was propped up by his elbow now digging his dark blue eyes into the curls placed messily atop the boy's head.

harry finally glanced up from his elbow with a pouted lip and saddened eyes.

though all louis could focus on was the pretty red color of his lips similar to the red of the dog house he built with his dad last weekend and how pretty the dark green color was, like the woods hidden behind his house.

he smiled so wide maybe his cheeks would rip open soon, it kind of hurt.

"you're pretty," louis dragged out the t in awe as he tore his hands away from his face and deep into the mop of curls that hadn't belonged to him.

harry groaned nudging the other away and pointing toward his elbow with a whine, "you hurt my elbow, 's red now."

"i'm sorry, gimme so i can kiss it better."

"gross!"

"not gross—," louis tire away to read the name written on the name tag, "harold, not gross just magic."

without anymore argument the blue eyed boy grabbed harrys elbow and laces a large wet kiss onto the smooth milk skin. his pale pink lips tingling at the sweet contact.

when louis pulled away with a smack of his lips and a line of spit drooling from the corner of his mouth harry couldn't help but smile, the latter took the liberty of wiping the spit away with his small thumb and then onto his pair of tan chinos.

"see all better now!"

harry grinned rubbing his elbow which had felt the tiniest bit better, "thank you louis william, you are magic."

"not louis william, that's my middle name, it's tomlinson to you."

"louis tomlinson, you sound like a prince!" harry giggled with bright eyes, covering his mouth with his small hand.

louis groaned shoving his hand harshly into the boy's right shoulder, "harry styles sounds like a model, like the ones on tv late after 9."

the curly haired boy gasped, bringing his head down and speaking in a quiet whisper.

"you stay up, past eight!"

"only on saturdays when mum is too tired to stop me, i've seen it all!"

"louis, harold please turn around front darlings. we're beginning class now."

the two couldn't hide the smiles on their faces as they began the first of many days in school.

at 10:35 harrys hand began to shake with anticipation of what would come in ten simple minutes.

he always felt better after his insulin dosage like her had been given an energy shot or something cool like that, he didn't really understand the science behind it but figured it was best he didn't.

10:36 and his leg was bouncing up and down, hitting the cold metal attached to the desk every time he did so.

10:38 he started tapping his pencil on the desk and glancing every five seconds at the black watch tightened around his wrist which still blinked the same four numbers on its face.

10:38, 10:38, 10:3-

"harold what's gotten into you! have you gone mad?" louis squeaked turning his attention away from his teacher and placing it all on the restless boy sat beside him.

the question needed no real answer because at the end of the day shaking and tapping without reasoning meant gone mad in louis' simple mind.

so he took the liberty of placing his palm carefully over the shaking fist atop the desk and his other on the boy's knee. the action caused harrys shaking to stop and him to tense up, a smile still shown on his face.

"i'm okay lou, just tired of waiting."

"waiting for what exactly? i'm not a mind reader harold," louis dully noted removing his hands from the pale skin and crossing them over his chest, a huff leaving his pink pouty lips.

should he really tell the boy he met mere hours ago about his...problem? the only people to know were gemma, anne, his grandparents, and his mums sister who had always been close with the family. should he really let louis tomlinson into that circle too.

why not.

"if i tell you, you cannot mutter it to a soul lou," his head lowered so only a few unruly curls stuck above his desk, "a soul!"

"of course, pinky promise kiss it better," he prompted his pinky out to the other strictly and glancing to see if the teacher had caught sight of their antics.

she had minutes ago, but the boys were oblivious and she thought they were adorable.

harry scrunched his nose up in confusion, "kiss it better?"

"yes like this," louis grabbed the boy's hand and intertwined his pinky with harry's, before kissing his own thumb gently and coaxing harry to do the same.

he did so warily keeping his eyes locked with the pale blue ones and pressing a deep, warm kiss into his own thumb. he watched in fascination as louis pressed their thumbs together whilst keeping their pinkies locked tightly.

he was so caught up in the tingly feeling residing in his finger that he forgot about his medicine.

10:43.

"i have this thing that gets treated with magic medicine, i get to leave class in two minutes to take it."

"no fair, i want magic medicine," louis shines breaking their locked hands and pouting once again.

"shush, you can come with i'll tell m-"

a tap on the desk followed by the screeching of many chairs against the tiled floors and shuffling of students heading for the snacks burning holes in their bags. blue accompanied by green brought their view upward to see who had disturbed their conversation.

ms. dale was left hovering over the pair, her long curly blonde hair dipping onto their desk and her cherry red fingernails laid out in front of the two worried set of eyes.

she hadn't looked the tiniest bit angry and instead had a pleasant smile on her face, like she was happy to see them.

"harry you can bring louis if you'd like, but hurry along your sister is waiting and it's nearly time."

harrys eyes went wide as he saw the blinking 1044 on his watch, without another word he left with a wordless thank you and yanked louis out of his seat ignoring the small yelp and instead bolting out of the door.

the boy didn't let go either, until he reached the nurses office with gemma chasing behind the pair begging for them to not run in the halls. (she's a fifth grader, she would know)

louis finally freed himself from the others death grip and glanced up with angry eyes, rubbing the aching red mark dramatically "harold what'd the big deal! magic medicine can't wait?"

"no way, it has to be at 10:45 no later than that," he paused placing a finger on his trembling bottom lip, "that's what mummy says anyway."

the nurse was an older red headed woman with the whitest of teeth and the sweetest of smiles, she had been familiar with injections and had been schooled on it by anne for two weeks before the end of summer. her name was georgia and harry he liked how gentle she was and the color bandaids she used even though he didn't really need them.

when the three arrived in the office she already had everything laid out on the table neatly and in the order anne had taught her to.

cleansing wipes first, check glucose levels, program pen, inject.

harry practically skipped over to the woman with louis and gemma following close behind as he plopped the small green bag he had managed to grab onto the table, the smile he wore undeniable.

"hi miss georgia, i'm all set for my medicine now!"

harry took the liberty of lifting himself up to the high blue chair and scooting back until his butt hit the back of the chair, his hands folded neatly in his lap as he awaited his dosage. louis was stood with his head resting on harrys arm as he watched curiously, eyes following the small box that ticked harrys finger and took his blood.

he hissed quietly as if he could feel the small pain himself, and when georgia started setting the boy's pen up his bright blue eyes grew wide.

he pressed his warm cheeks against harrys arm as if hiding his face away from the needle and muttered someone incoherent into the milky skin.

"all set harry?"

"all set miss g!"

louis peeked through his closed eyes to see the thin needle poke through the skin on his friends thigh, resting there for exactly ten seconds before it was removed and the process was over.

"how come you need magic medicine? are you dying?"

harry frowned pulling his shorts down to cover his thigh again, "not dying, just not enough glue or something like that in my body," he paused biting on his lip to think for a second "it's called dia-diab-"

"diabetes, and it's _glucose_ not glue," gemma scoffed dryly interrupting her brother and grabbing his green bag from georgia's outstretched hand.

louis grinned bringing himself away so harry could hop off of the chair and immediately going to wrap his tiny arms around the others shoulders.

"i like you and your lack of glue harold, wanna come over after school? mum makes cookies and juice on the first day!"

"it's glucose, not glue. i-, second graders i swear."


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cookies crumble, so do hearts.

harry was allowed over the tomlinson household after school for three mere hours, gemma included to spend time with her new friend lottie, and he didn't think it would be enough time.

even for the rest of the day the two were inseparable wherever they were told to go, on their trip to lunch they spent so long washing their hands and blowing suds at each other their teacher sent a janitor in to get them out.

and at lunch they shared their sandwiches and juice boxes, claiming they needed to taste new things. and when harry offered up a peanut butter cracker louis shook his head vigorously and reminded his friend why they were seated at the orange table and not the purple ones. he had a peanut allergy.

harry threw the crackers away.

on their trip to the library, they wandered off into the fiction section and were found four minutes later with noses stuffed inside a book. after a scolding from the librarian and a removed star for both of the boys, they were off to recess.

their classmates got mad at the pair because they were hogging the tire swing underneath the large playset, legs intertwined and small hands gripping the others elbows to steady themselves.

and after minutes of arguing and shouting louis finally couldn't handle the name-calling coming from brandon and molly so he stumbled off of the tire swing and chucked handfuls of woodchucks at the two until they left him and his friend alone.

they told the teacher.

louis got two more stars removed.

by the end of the day, the two were so well acquainted that there was no way they couldn't spend the afternoon together.

so at 3:30 when everyone was dismissed, the pair waited outside of the school for gemma and lottie to make their way for the second floor of the school. (where the big kids were)

they came out in record timing giggling and speaking about some boy named cameron or something stupid like that, they nearly left their siblings if it weren't for louis' clearing of his throat.

the tomlinson's rode bus 88 and they were the last stop because their house was the farthest from the school. harry liked long bus rides quite a lot because it meant he got to press his warm head of curls to the window and watch the sway of the grass in the thin wind.

"i really like red, 's a pretty color right?" louis hummed glancing over at the boy to make sure he was looking at the burgundy color of his backpack.

"yeah, like blood or roses."

the blue-eyed boy shriveled his nose up at the words and pressed his bag down with his small hands, "you simply cannot use blood and roses in the same sentence, not at all."

harry only shrugged pressing his fingertips against the warm window and frowning a bit, turning to his friend for a resolution. earlier he had explained his like to cold windows after long days, and if the window wasn't cold he was grumpy the entire ride.

louis snatched a cold pack from molly's bag in class.

the boy unzipped his backpack quickly and handed the small blue square to his friend watching as he placed it against the window for a few seconds before pulling it off and replacing it with his head.

"i'm gonna show you the strawberry fields, maybe if they're ripe enough we can eat some yeah?"

harry nodded his eyes glued to the grass they blew pass so quickly.

the bus ride was a short 15 minutes filled with smiles and whispers shared between the two boys, and when the bus driver yelled final stop with a squeaky opening of the door all four were off.

there was a cleanly cut sandy trail leading to the tomlinson household, flowers were lining the short path with large rocks holding fingerprints and initials.

harry recognized two of them as louis' small hands.

"mum we're home!"

within seconds a tall woman was coming into view, her smile so bright harry thought he'd need sunglasses. she looked like one of those models you spot in the magazines or billboards.

"hi darlings, good first day?"

lottie was the first to speak as she pulled her boots off harshly, her bag already discarded on the bench by the door, "yes! fifth year is so sick, and we get to use the monkey bars and the big swings."

"by the way, this is gemma and her little brother harry, the pair i texted you about," she added giving johannah quick peck on the cheek and heading toward the sweet smell of snickerdoodles filling the air.

gemma followed after a small wave, chasing after he friend in a rush.

louis took harry's bag and placed it on the hook next to his own, urging him to slip his shoes off and tuck them under the bench.

"harry was it?" johannah asked squatting so she was at level with the boys. harry nodded keeping his head down and his hands folded over his stomach, scared to meet the oceanic blue eyes.

jay only grinned wider and brought her finger softly to tuck underneath the chin of the smaller boy, lifting his gaze up so they were eye to eye. her hands were large enough to wrap around harrys entire face along with being warm enough to warm up his body after a long day in the rain.

gemma mentioned the fact that she sent anne a quick text with jay's number so they could discuss harrys...issue.

he could tell by the glint in her eyes that he knew. he didn't like it all that much.

"i'm jay, the two crazy's mum. it is great to meet you," her voice was smooth like silk or shiny like gold and it made bumps on his arms.

"nice to meet you too miss jay, i like your hair."

jay smiled pulling at her brown locks frantically and pulling them behind her ears, a pretend bashful look in her eyes, "why thank you i like your hair too, now harry grab your go pack and we'll get you set up in the kitchen."

harry nodded placing his backpack on the small bench beside him and grabbing his small green bag from where it sat on top of his few papers. once the pair hung their bags up neatly on the black hooks and tucked their shoes underneath the bench they were led into the kitchen by jay.

the woman had always made it a point to take off work on the first day back to school for numerous reasons, one being her break from the endless months of summer she had endured.

so every first and last day of school she made snickerdoodles for her children to enjoy after their most likely long day at school.

today was no different, she had them laid out on a pretty lilac plate with yellow flowers and small designs. and she had two cups of juice sat beside them with superhero's harry had only ever seen on gemma's bedroom walls.

"now, your mum said to check your levels first and then see if you're low, she told me to remind you about the 13-13 rule?"

harry shook his head once again as he handed his green bag over to the woman and climbed into the chair slowly, louis now doing the same.

"check my levels and then i eat 13 grams of sugar, then i check back in 13 minutes to see if i need more."

jay sat across from the two boys, watching as harry unloaded the small device that read his glucose levels and some other things he needed.

wipes, and extra insulin pumps, bandaids, and gloves.

"lemme do the wipe part, 's fun," louis mumbled not bothering to wait for a response and tear the small square packet open to pull out the wet wipe.

he wiped harry's pinky off as he hummed quietly to himself, jay watching from afar and taking notes. after his fingertip was clean and dry he nicked it and placed the cool metal in the small pool of blood-forming.

after a few seconds and a few beeps, his reading came out below 70, which meant he had an excuse to eat cookies.

"half a cookie should be fine, and how about we get you some water instead okay honey?"

harry nodded as he wrapped a bandaid around his pinky and stuffed the items back into his bag while louis began to tear the cookie apart, he tried his best to divide it evenly but the cookie was a bit warm and a few crumbs were hitting the pretty marble countertop.

the pale green eyes followed his friend as he grumbled in his failed attempt and finished breaking the treat apart, his lips pulled down into a frown.

"sorry, 'm not very good at that kinda thing," he mumbled pulling his cup closer to the edge and examining his cookie warily.

harry ate the cookie quickly, shoving it in his mouth, ignoring the crumbs that fell upon his lap and giving a large bright smile to his friend. half-chewed cookie filling his mouth.

"cookie monster!" he hummed incoherently.

louis grinned happily and did the same with his cookie, nodding in agreement that he too was cookie monster. after finishing their treats neatly and drinking their respective drinks the two were leaning down to rest their heads on the cool table and stare at each other deeply.

harry frowned as the other tiny hands dig into his tightly wound curls and tugged on them with such fascination that his eyes went wide and a smile the same.

"mumma can i take harold to the fields outback? we won't go far!"

jay sighed turning around from her spot in front of the cabinet with a towel in hand, her hair now pulled up into a loose ponytail, "will you be safe?"

her son nodded quickly.

"keep your shoes _and_ socks on?"

another nod.

"bring me some berries?"

louis grinned jumping out of his seat with a thud, dragging the other along with him to gather their shoes and socks.

the fields started from the back porch and stretched all the way out until the forest full of thick trees and muddy land, the forest led to another neighborhood where the styles house stood. it was surprising that the two families hadn't met earlier but with harry's diabetes and anne's constant worrying, she never let him put all too much when he was younger.

the grass came up to tickle the boy's knees and swayed gently in the wind, a few feet past the white fenced porch was where the neatly plowed lines began. the land was owned by the city but they didn't mind the locals coming to pick to the sweet fruit.

louis couldn't help but pluck a few as he walked and shove them into his mouth greedily. a hum falling from his now red-stained lips.

"i live past the trees, this is prettier than my backyard," harry frowned, his small pale fingers catching the smooth blades of grass as he walked slowly behind his friend.

louis snorted solemnly, "when we get older we should go explore in there, and trees are better than berries in my opinion."

"no way, you can eat berries, trees have bugs and block the sky," harry argued grabbing a few strawberries himself and popping them into his mouth, tossing the stems into the basket by louis' side.

"yes harold but you can climb trees, mumma says when i turn ten i can climb the trees," he bragged, turning to crinkle his nose at the other.

"we should do that, i turn ten in the second month!"

"sounds good to me! now come lay with me so we can count the clouds."

louis tugged at the boy's wrist and dropped the basket into the warm grass before shoving his friend in after it, the long strands enveloping the pair in what felt like a tight hug. the two fell harshly beside each other with hair tickling at the grass and hands tucked beneath their heads. eyes pointed up at the big blue sky.

harry couldn't help but admire the fact that the blue was the same as the one that resided in the other's eyes and the way that the breeze flowed gently through the caramel locks, he wished he was as beautiful as louis.

maybe if he was beautiful like louis his dad would have stayed,

maybe if he was beautiful like louis he wouldn't have diabetes.


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you can't always get what you want.

"harry that one is mine, yours is red for blood remember?"

"sorry! just distracted," he mumbled tossing the blue truck into his friend's hand and slumping against the back of the couch.

louis sighed deeply discarding his truck onto the ground and sitting up on his legs so he was sat a bit higher than harry with folded arms and a pout present on his plump lips.

"what's wrong, you sad? cause mum says it's normal to be sad. you wanna cry is that it? cause that's plenty normal too!"

harry shook his head, gaze set downward and curls bouncing, "no it's just, we start the third grade in two weeks. i'm nervous is all."

"nervous? you _should_ be excited!" louis exclaimed.

second grade had been over merely two months ago yet the trials of work have yet to leave harry's mind. they learned how to tell the time and some sign language and even some cursive. amongst other things. though it seemed that in everything they did louis excelled, he could sign his name perfectly and his cursive H's were so neat and precise it looked as if it came out of a printer.

and every day at 10:45 he was the one dragging harry out of the classroom by his wrist.

harry didn't understand much of anything they did in school or anything really, he blamed it on his brain for thinking so slow sometimes. like he'd been fine while doing his addition and subtraction work but when he was called on to read for the class his brain shut off.

of course, he told anne (who had been aware of the issue her son had due to the conversation she had with the principle discussing it). she simply explained that he needed to try his best to stay focused and not fall behind in his studies, it was not as easy as it sounded.

anne met with principal daves on a day that grades five and above were taking some big test and everyone who had been younger was able to come in a little bit later. they talked about harry's grades and his class participation, he told her some stuff that he couldn't hear because it didn't concern him.

but it was about him, so why couldn't he know? anne left the office looking more stressed then she had in a long time, pinching the bridge of her nose and gripping her son's hand in her own so tightly he could barely feel his fingertips.

later that night after dinner and homework gemma and harry found themselves listening in on a conversation in the room down the hall.

harry could barely hear the words his mother was mumbling to his grandma due to gemma's big head pressed against the cool door of her room. all he did hear was that he was stupid, that if he didn't stop being stupid by the end of the year he would be placed in a different class for kids who were special like him.

he didn't get any better, he actually got worse. what was the point in trying if he'd end up with the other stupid kids anyway?

so for harry school was terrible, and summer was great.

and for louis school was great, and summer was terrible.

after getting high marks all year and building up that expectation from his parents he couldn't let them down, summer was looked at for a time of rest and a time for fun.

so he didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to have fun.

on the second day of summer louis sat down at the kitchen table per, his mum's request, and he was met with a stack of books higher than his head. they were problem books for math and science and english and history, at least three for every subject and a few extras on the bottom about foreign languages?

he could barely read some of the words in them and sometimes if he stared too hard his head began to ache but, he couldn't escape the workload. jay and daniel made him study every single day from the hours of 7:45 to 3:15 and by then he was so tired and worn all he wanted to do was sleep.

every day when his sisters were outside running around laughing and hanging out with their friends, he was seated at the dining room table trying to work out math problems for seventh graders. after a while he got really tired of it, he got tired of the sleepiness washing over his body and the cramps in his fingers and the hot sun beating on his back as if mocking him.

on july 4th when the tv was showing the events going on in the states and his sisters were sat with ice pops watching the chaos, he felt really tired of it.

so when his mum was too busy yelling at lottie about the mess on the carpet he slid his small frame off of the chair and ran out of the house. door slamming behind him.

because it was summertime, a time to see friends and swim and climb trees and collect fireflies and go camping. and he hadn't seen his new friend all summer, so maybe harry forgot about him.

louis didn't stop running until he was through the thick forest and at the back of harry's home where his family was barbecuing. the smell was thick and savory, it smelled of burgers and steaks and everything louis wasn't allowed to eat because to get the meat it hurt the animals and his mum didn't like hurting the animals.

the gate to the large brown picket fence was ajar so he slid through and stood shyly by the door waiting for someone to acknowledge his presence.

it didn't take long for harry to pull his eyes away from the thin blade of grass and onto the small blue-eyed boy standing a few feet away. and louis swore he's never seen him smile so big and so hard.

now school was two weeks away and harry was going into a special class and louis might be skipping a grade and they both had terrible and great summers separately.

"i have to go to ESL for reading now, i'm stupid now," harry mumbled tossing the truck away and pouting into the palms of his small hands, "and you're all smart and stuff and you'll leave me for the smart kids like liam and brandon."

louis scoffed shoving his hand into his friend's shoulder causing him to rip back and press his back fully to the sofa, "no way, plus we can have other friends can't we?"

"well yeah i guess, j-just," harry paused with knitted eyebrows, "you were mine first yeah? my best friend, my louis first," he paused as if contemplating what he wanted to say, "no one else."

"yeah harold, your louis first."  
  


❦

the first day was everything but calming since gemma and lottie were in a different school now harry and louis didn't have anyone to ride the bus with. so anne walked harry through the woods and to louis bus stop that way they weren't alone.

and when the pair entered the building with shaky hands already scared of the impending future ahead, with no words of condolence or warning they were shoved by all the older kids whose only concern was meeting up with their friends.

the bell rang at nine and the boys were in their new classroom by then, not letting the other tear from their side, harry was shaking with fear while louis was shaking with excitement.

everything ran smoothly up until 10:45, it used to be harry's favorite time of the day because he got to feel better. but ever since he got his de com he didn't need to do that anymore, so now it was replaced by marcus coming into his classroom to collect the two kids who had to go to ESL.

harry and some girl named emily.

at 10:45 he heard the door creak open and a tall lanky man poked his head in, a large smile resembling sunshine bright on his face as he spoke, "i need harold styles and emily butcher for ESL now, they can leave their things in their cubbies we'll only be an hour or two."

at the sound of his name, the curly-haired boy picked his head up from his maths worksheet and sent a pointed look toward the boy next to him who looked so delved into the worksheet it was unbelievable.

reluctantly he pushed himself away from his desk with shaky hands and walked over to the doorway as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the peering eyes on his back.

marcus introduces himself to the pair as their other new teacher and told them to get in line with the other few kids he had lined up behind them, cause they were going to head to their classroom now.

whilst in line, he met a boy who towered over him with jet black hair and pierced ears as the girls have. he wore thick-rimmed black glasses that hid the thick eyelashes and brown eyes, a smile on his face as he whispered to the red-headed boy next to him.

the boy introduced himself as zayn, in the same year as him and just as dumb as him.

or so he said.

"this is oli, he's dumber than me sometimes," zayn paused to look at the bulge over the other's stomach hidden under his shirt, "what's that?"

"i have lack of glue in my body so this feeds me glue whenever i need it,"

"glue? wait, harold i've got an idea!"

now harry has never been made to puke before.

but twenty minutes later after zayn put glue down his throat he was sat over the toilet shaking feverishly while miss georgia rubbed his back and he emptied the contents of his stomach. the liquid the nurse made him drink was a clear color and really thick, it felt like it was sticking to his throat.

they called his mum and told her what he had done, he lost a whole six stars off his board in homeroom and zayn got in trouble too. all the kids in his grade were whispering about how dumb the two had to be to eat glue.

harry was embarrassed, to say the least, and he felt sick to his stomach, all he really wanted was to feel better. he was tired of feeling like crap all the time and having this big metal block stuck into his tummy.

"i don't fe-e-" the small boy hiccuped with tears streaming down his rosy red cheeks and he squirmed on the bathroom floor, "i want to go home! i want lou"

georgia hushed him immediately her soothing hand feeling heavy on his back as his cries echoed in the small four walls.

harry ducked his head down harshly back into the toilet to throw up again, soft whines left his lips as he hung low over the ceramic bowl.

"georgia louis' here, they said you needed him?"

"yes bring him in, close the door behind you please," relief flooded over the woman as she removed herself from the shaky boy and folded the towel she had been using to clean his face with up.

louis entered the bathroom timidly and slightly confused, he had heard someone ate glue but had not the slightest idea of who had actually done it. his guess, the weird jess chick in year 4. his eyes first landed on the head of curls halfway sticking into the toilet bowl and the bright red shoes tucked underneath of the small body. without a second guess, he knew it was harry and he knew why he had been called in. for comfort.

"harold! did you seriously eat glue?" he inquired shuffling over to the boy and placing his cold hand on the back of his warm neck.

harry lifted his aching head up to meet the crystal blue eyes filled with worry as he nodded shamefully, his dark green eyes were shiny with tears and his chubby cheeks a deep rosy red color.

"z-zayn said it would help my lack of glue," he whined, a new fresh set of tears bubbling up and cascading down his face, his mouth still feeling sticky despite the fact that he had gargled with water and spit out any residue left from the pale substance.

despite his clean state he felt dirty and sticky all over as if the glue was flowing through his body and sticking to all of his organs, he could feel his liver shutting down he swore it.

thoughts swarmed through his head filled with what-ifs, what if he hadn't been too keen on listening to zayn and didn't swallow two whole bottles of glue plus a purple glue stick.

he could barely suppress the hiccups that left his bright red lips as he sobbed harder.

"harold edward shut up and look at me!" louis huffed grabbing his friend by the cheeks and turning so their eyes locked, the watery green meeting the stern blue.

after successfully gaining his companion's attention the boy spoke softly, "you will be fine okay? you're a strong boy and i'm sure some glue won't be the thing that kills you-"

"louis!"

"sorry miss, just-" he sighed deeply his eyes softening at the state of the other "your mums coming soon so suck it up and try not to puke on my trainers yeah?"

harry sniffled nodding solemnly and relaxing as the small fingers left his face, wiping his tears away slowly.

anne came within the next ten minutes. the crossing guard had sworn she'd never seen someone skid into the parking lot so fast before, or someone run so fast through the building front doors.

after a brief discussion of what had happened and a small talk with louis about how he wasn't allowed to call 911 and there would be no ambulances, the styles were on their way to the nearest urgent care center.

the place was eerily quiet for a wednesday morning.

after checking his throat for any leftover gunk and clearing out his airway with some nasty water chemical rinses the nurse finally gave him some syrup to make him throw up one last time to make sure everything was out of his system, she had to take out his brand new omnipod he had just put in. Lou picked the design.

harry cried.

after cleaning up and signing some release forms, anne and her son were on their way to pick gemma up from school a bit early, harry hadn't spoken since they left the school and refused to even try because every time he did a fresh set of tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.

he was allowed to go and see louis after arriving home and getting a brand new boring omnipod, he hated the way it hung off his body and how empty he felt without it. louis was waiting for him by the base of the big oak tree they had always met at, he had papers resting on the front of this binder in his lap as he scribbled down his homework answers.

harry approached him carefully his head hung low and hands tucked deep into his front pockets, "hi."

"hey haz, you doing better?" the blue-eyed boy didn't even bother to look up and meet his friend's eyes as he shuffled from foot to foot staring at the other. curls bounced as he nodded finally taking a seat beside his friend and glancing at the paper he had been working on.

louis was working on what seemed to be english or something but all his friend knew was that it looked like gibberish on a page, "how was the doctor's?"

"it was fine lou, everything was fine," harry whispered picking at the long blades of grass and pressing them gently between his thumb and his index fingers, he liked the way it felt.

at the sound of the dry tone, the blue-eyed boy stopped writing and finally glanced up to meet his friend's saddened gaze pointed toward the ground below him, "hazza."

"lou."

"hazza," he whined dragging out the last 'a' as he dropped his schoolwork into the grass next to him and crawled so they were side by side, bodies pressed warmly together and arms wrapped around each other's waists.

louis sighed deeply tucking his friend away underneath his arm and beginning to run his fingers through the tangled curls humming as he did, the schoolwork was long forgotten now replaced by a tiny fragile boy with a tendency to fall asleep in the comfortable hands of louis tomlinson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> I hope you enjoyed and if you didn't leave some constructive criticism it is highly appreciated.
> 
> This was the last "flashback" type chapter to next chapter we'll pick up right from the summer before junior year (11th).
> 
> Get ready for some angsty teen activities, a side of Ziall, and a pinch of daddy payne. 
> 
> Bye!


End file.
